A total of 210 out of 286 congressmen attended the session but it took several hours before they finally took up the actual measure.

The RH bill is going through the period of individual amendments at the House of Representatives.

Earlier in the day, congressmen had lunch with President Aquino, who urged the lawmakers to act on the RH bill this week.

There are only 9 session days left before Congress goes on Christmas break.

"He wants the debates to end so it can be put to a vote," deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said after Aquino met with members of the House of Representatives to call for a final decision.

"It's one of the most divisive issues that have confronted us. There has to be an end to the debate," she said.

Valte said the President himself was for "responsible parenthood," but he prefers to leave it to the legislators to vote on the measure based on their conscience.

Clear what PNOY wants: that we vote on d #RH bill now. N if he were there, he'd vote yes. He said that 6 times.

Women's groups and the United Nations have been pushing for the law to be passed, saying it would help to bring down poverty as well as the Philippines' high rate of deaths in childbirth.

However, the measure is opposed by the politically influential Catholic church, which is against the use of contraceptives, including condoms and birth control pills. - with reports from ANC, Agence France-Presse